


Questions and Questions

by TheAzureFox



Series: Phantom Revival [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Based on the manga, Other, a little bit based on headcanon, hinted Yuzu and Yuya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8032636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: Questions, always questions. Yuya wonders about the truth of his protectors and the meaning of the three girls whose names haunt his memories. Slight AU from the manga, based on my own theory and others'.





	Questions and Questions

Once, long ago, Yuya thinks he knew the three shadows that form the phantom of his conscience. They’re faces of great familiarity but they’re strangers to him. Yugo, Yuto, and Yuri. Those are their names, the names of their ghosts, but he can’t remember who they are.

Well, that’s not entirely correct. He _does_ remember them. But it’s in bits and pieces and not in chunks or slices. He remembers faces, names, but not the important memories. He remembers seeing Yuri in the midst of a darkened landscape, one surrounded by ash gray towers and cloud-filled skies. He remembers racing Yugo, speeding past him with wind on his face and his eyes clouded by his goggles. He remembers holding Yuto in his arms, whispering sweet words as the boy only smiles up at him.

And, when he meets Yuzu who is determined to scoop him up into show business, he knows there’s more than just Yuzu and the spirits of his mind. There’s Rin and Ruri and Serena though who they are is a mystery to Yuya. They share the same face as Yuzu though with different colored eyes and hair. Yet, the girl that he knows is someone who he can’t help but be fond of. Even as she prods and begs, pouts and scowls, Yuya can’t seem to let her go. She’s like glue, one that sticks to you regardless whether you want it or not, but he doesn’t want to brush her away. Instead, he’s content with her being at his side, assisting him in her own greedy way.

“Are there others like her?” Yuya asks his counterparts one day, when the mystery of “Rin”, “Ruri”, and “Serena” decides to make him speak. “Like Yuzu, I mean?”

The three boys look down at Yuzu. She is resting in Yuya’s lap, snoring lightly. She’d pulled an all-nighter the day before gathering information from resources on how to find his card. And, while he appreciated her help, he felt a bit uncomfortable having her passed out on his lap. Yuri, as devious as he was, had offered to push her to the floor. A quick shout from the other three boys shot down that idea as swiftly as it had been made.

“I don’t know,” Yuri says after a pause. “Maybe?”

Yuto gives the purple-haired boy a scowl, shaking his head. “Maybe? Is maybe the best answer here?” he scoffs.

“What we mean,” Yugo starts, giving a small cough, “is that we don’t know. We don’t _know_ ,” he sends Yuri a glare as the boy begins to open his mouth, “anything.”

Yuya looks between them, eyebrows furrowed. Sometimes, it feels as if his guardians are speaking in code. Their conversations always end up feeling like there’s a hidden meaning, one that only they can solve and no one else can. Words are being exchanged silently between the three and, as usual, Yuya is left out of the loop.

He knows he won’t get any answers though. He’s tried in the past, prodding and poking the three for the key to the language they speak. But, in the end, he’s always shot down, left with vague answers and hidden meanings with no code to decrypt them. They’re hiding something, he realizes, and they don’t want him to know.

But why?

It’s the first question that crosses his mind whenever a subject regarding his memory occurs. Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri are his protectors, or so they’ve told him. “Protecting me from what?” he’d ask. “From the ones who are after you,” they’d reply, hinting no further as to what that meant. Yet, with all the supposed protecting they’ve done, Yuya’s not sure he’s gained anything from it.

Yuzu shifts in his lap. The girl is sleeping soundly, eyelids fluttering with sleep. He absentmindedly pulls her bangs back, fingers brushing against her cheek. She smiles and moves towards his hand, clasping it with her own. Yuya freezes, unsure as to what to do.

“Yuya, we’re back together again,” she says, mumbling and nuzzling against his hand, “I miss you." 

“Again?” Yuya questions. He’s only met her once before and he’s never lost her in the time they’ve been together. Her words make no sense.

He turns to his ghostly counterparts. 

They all avert their gazes.

Yuya’s suspicious. “Guys?” he asks slowly, carefully. “What is Yuzu talking about?”

Yugo turns his gaze to him and gives a slight smile, the corner of his lips tight. “I’m sure it’s just dream talk,” the boy reassures. “People always say weird things in their dreams.”

“Do I say weird things?” Yuya asks them.

“Maybe.” Yugo gives a slight whistle.

“Like what?”

A grin spreads wide across Yuri’s face, he makes a wide gesture with his arms, mocking and taunting. “Oh, Yuzu, my one and true love, may I kiss you passionately!”

Yuya glares at him. “I do not say such things.”

“Are you sure?” Yuri kneels before Yuzu and strokes her forehead. Yuya swipes his hand away before he can give the action a thought.

“Ooh, protective of her?” Yuri smiles. “Figures, you two always were meant for each other.”

Yugo and Yuto instantly snap their heads towards the boy. “Yuri!” they shout and Yuri’s eyes widen in sudden astonishment.

“Shit,” the boy curses. “Shit, no, shit.”

There’s a sudden shift in mood, a sudden panic and horror. Yuya can see it on their faces, their wide eyes and agape mouths, their sudden jumpiness and the way they stare at Yuya expectantly.

“Yuri,” Yuya says, his bangs falling over his face. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing,” the boy says promptly. “Why, did anything I say seem out of the ordinary?”

The façade is already broken. Yuya stares up at him, eyebrows pulled down and eyes narrowed. He averts his gaze, refusing to meet theirs.

“Yuya,” Yugo begins, reaching out a hand.

“Don’t!” Yuya snaps. All three boys take in sharp breaths. “You all know something, don’t you? About why my memories are gone, about why I know things that make no sense? Are Ruri and Rin and Serena real people or are they just like you? Are they spirits? And who am I? Who are you? You’re not _really_ my protectors are you?” 

“Yuya,” Yuto frowns, “Yuya we are-“

“No! I don’t want to hear it! You’re lying to me, all of you,” Yuya shakes his head. “No, you’ve been lying since the beginning. It’s true, isn’t it?”

Yuri stares at him, his gaze cold. There’s a sudden chill in the air, one that forces the red and green-haired boy to keep his gaze with the purple-clad boy. “Yuya,” Yuri’s tone is low and strict. “We haven’t told you anything because we ARE protecting you. We’re not lying to you. We’re keeping you from harm.”

“From what, Yuri?” he cries, angry and frustrated and furious. “From what?”

But he doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns his gaze from Yuya to the girl on Yuya’s lap. 

Yuzu sits up, rubbing at her eyes. “Yuya?” she asks, concerned. “What’s wrong?” 

He forces a smile and ignores the three spirits staring at him anxiously. “Nothing,” he says. “Go back to sleep. You were up late.”

“I had a dream,” she murmurs.

“Of what?”

 She rests her head on his shoulder, grabbing fistfuls of his white jacket. He doesn’t jump at the touch or shy away from it. Instead, he leans into it. It feels like she’s done this to him before. “It was…weird,” she murmurs, “We got separated and I met Yugo-“ Yugo’s attention shifts cautiously to her, “and he told me I was someone named Rin and-“

“Rin?” Yuya catches her eyes as she gazes up at him. “Did you say Rin?”

“Yes, why?”

“She’s, I don’t, but I know-” Yuya pauses shakes his head. “She’s someone I think I know.”

“A girlfriend?” Yuzu asks. If Yuya didn’t know better, the girl was pouting.

“Oi,” Yugo whispers but Yuri, who stabs him in the side with an elbow, shushes him.

The red-haired boy refuses to acknowledge them. “Maybe,” he says. “It’s all hazy. I don’t know anything, Yuzu. I don’t remember.”

Yuzu gazes at him for a long, long time. Then, she takes his hand and smiles. “Phantom,” she says and then shakes her head “no, Yuya. I’m here to help, remember? Whatever you need, I’ll assist with. I’m your manager, alright? I need to help my star duelist whenever he needs me there for him.”

He’s not sure he likes the dream-filled tone her voice takes. “Sure, alright, I appreciate it,” he squeezes her hand. “Thanks.”

Yuzu smiles and, for the briefest of moments, Yuya sees three girls sit behind her. They stare at him, at the area around him and then smile sadly.

He blinks and they disappear.

They are no more. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the idea that Yuzu, too, has her own counterparts in the manga. Or, rather, Yuya wonders whether she has the same counterparts he does. It's also based off the theory that the anime world "reset" and now the Yuu boys act as the spirits that guide him in the reset world, fully aware of their past and desperate to keep Yuya safe.
> 
> I plan to write a second part of this "universe" but I can't guarantee it will be right away.


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